Preparedness Pro in Your Kitchen

by Kellene

Solar Oven Chicken. Yum

As all of our regular readers know, I LOVE to cook!  You may also know that I fully expect to love to cook even in the midst of a full day, camping out, or in the event the power company experiences a breakdown. Yup. The last thing I fear about an apocalyptic event is eating garbage. But I realize that many of you don’t feel quite so enthusiastic about preparing your favorite dishes under challenging circumstances.  So, I’d like to help you out.  What I’d like to do is help you adapt your favorite dishes to more Everyday Preparedness methods.

I’d like you to be able to make them in record time, utilizing items from your shelf-instead of your freezer or refrigerator, and without the help of the local power company. Heck, for some of you this may simply serve as a weekly “Cooking 101” class—so you may want to double or triple the recipe so you don’t starve the other 6 days of the week—hee hee. So, in order for me to help you out with this, I need you all to post your favorites dishes here.  Each week I’ll select one of your posted dishes and do my darndest to adapt it into an Everyday Preparedness—easy peezy fare.  I may end up using freeze-dried, bottled, canned, powdered, or otherwise preserved ingredients each week to reinvent your favored fare and I’ll also be using the grill, a butane stove, or a solar oven to make these delicious plates happen as well.  In doing so, I hope that I’ll arm all of you with the same cooking enthusiasm and confidence that I get to enjoy in my kitchen in spite of using shelf-stable foods and non-electric methods of cooking.

Pulled pork in the pressure cooker. Yum.

I’d like to help you adapt recipes in this manner for three reasons.  For starters, I’ve discovered that cooking with my pressure cooker and solar oven is actually MORE tasty than any other conventional methods.  The other day I was watching The Food Network (I know, shocker, eh?) and watching the great Chef Ann, share some great recipes for a slow roasted pork accompanied by an even slower cooked chickpea soup. I decided to take her recipes and adapt them, but knowing how flavors are compounded when using the pressure cooker or solar oven I decided to cut down on some of the more expensive flavors and spices. The results were FAB-U-LOUS!  I’d love to invite you all over for a backyard picnic so that you could see the results for yourself.

The second reason why I’d like to do this for you all is because I know that you all don’t have any more time in your day than I do. (If you actually do, then you should stop holding out on me with the secret and fork over the time machine.)  Since I can’t be your close by friend to help out once in a while, I’d love to shave off some stress and effort from your day instead.  If I can’t cook for you, the least I could do is share with you some of the super weapons that I use to “get ‘er done.” I use my pressure cooker and solar oven often because it makes my life so easy and turns dinner into an easy part of my day rather than a red carpet Hollywood event. When I was making the recipes I observed during the Food Network episode, I was doing a little jig as I realized that I had reduced the slow-roasted pork recipe from 6 hours (with lots of babysitting and fussing) down to a carefree, hands-off,  4- hour treat in my solar oven.  I was also able to convert a 4-hour chickpea soup into a 40-minute amazing gourmet with my pressure cooker. I felt like I had struck gold.  I would love to envision cooks all over the world doing the Everyday Preparedness Jig too. *grin*

Another reason why I’d love for the rest of you to discover some of these methods is because I’d love to help you stabilize your grocery budget by incorporating the use of shelf-stable foods in your everyday fare. Even the wealthiest persons in the world love to get a good deal and save money.  I assure you that one does not get wealthy solely by spending money. I also believe that due to the countless gaps in our food safety system, prices rising as much as 700% in one year of various foods, politically motivated abuse of our nutrition sources, as well as the tenable supply sources of our food, we are all far too vulnerable nowadays when it comes to what we feed our families. Personally, I don’t do vulnerable very well. I’m sure we could all use a little more confidence in the world around us.  So if I can help any of you to have some peace of mind by being able to take more control over the food supply in your home, then I will have yet another reason to do a Preparedness Jig.

So, post your favorite meals here and each week I’ll work on revising them for you to help you with an increased confidence, satisfying taste, delicious comfort, time and cost-cutting meals!

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Comments

Miss Kellene--Thank you so much for doing and sharing this. I am not very confident about my cooking now, especially the alternate of electricty. I can cook or at least thought I could. I can fry chicken and do a pot roast, but there is much more I need to know. I do like cooking with gas(propane, natural gas)much better than electricty. I have found out I have fibromyalgia and I had to quit work, so I am getting back into cooking real food again. I think I am more of a Baker than a Cook.--Peg

Thanks for this post, Kellene. I'm devoting probably 60 percent of my preps funds and time to stocking up and/or preparing food for long-term storage. You might be interested in the ongoing food series I'm running on my site:

http://survivalprep.net/category/nine-meals-from-anarchy-series/

I enjoy getting your posts by e-mail every day. Keep up the great work!

Hello Kellene, it will be great to learn how to bake bread using the solar oven. I have no specific recipe in mind but would like to learn how to use my "fresh ground wheat", honey, salt, powdered milk, etc. to bake delicious bread using a solar oven. Thanks!

Preparedness Pro's picture

Andra, I have my whole wheat bread recipe noted here on the blog. Although it doesn't call for powdered milk. (Kellene's kick butt whole wheat bread recipe) But it's EXACTY the same recipe I used in all of my solar oven pictures/articles. So be sure to check it out. Good luck and let me know how it works for you.

Kellene,

Here's a recipe for you - pizza, any kind. I have a house full of boys that LOVE pizza!

Preparedness Pro's picture

Ok Beth. I've got you covered--with excellence! No problem!

Marie Calendars chunky chicken with noodles frozen dinner... (8-(

I would like to make Chicken Parmesan

Spaghetti with some type of protein in the sauce. My goal this summer is to can 52 jars of spaghetti sauce. I wonder how many bushels of tomatoes I need? I thoroughly enjoy your blog!

I would love to be able to make macaroni and cheese or tuna noodle casserole. Do you use your pressure cooker on the solar stove?

Preparedness Pro's picture

Robin,
the solar unit is an oven, as opposed to a stove. So, nope, the solar oven and the pressure cooker dont' work well together. :-)
I've got soem GREAT solutions for your recipe requests! woohoo!

I'm not an artist when it come to cooking, although I do search for the best method to cook my basics.
I'll be looking forward to these posts eagerly.
Also, I would appreciate your input with your favorite solar oven. Model, and where to buy.
Thank you as usual.
M

Preparedness Pro's picture

Hey Mikey Dee, check the response I made to Ginger just below here for an answer to your question. Also, please check on the previous solar oven articles I've written. That way you've got more than just the answer, you've got the "why" behind the answer as well.
My pleasure to help!

Spaghetti, potato soup, chiles rellenos, a basic rice and chicken, beef stroganoff, chicken pot pie, BBQ chicken, and pizza. Oh, and any kind of quiche...I think that would be fun to do for breakfast with freeze dried veggies.
I was at your class about long-term electrical outages at Home Storage Basics (the one who was reluctant to talk about guns). I wanted to thank you for the class...very informative and it has remotivated me to work on the holes in my family's preparedness. I also wanted to ask...I have seen on your website that you like to use freeze-dried foods. Is there a particular company you recommend? Also, you mentioned that you could get a 55 gallon barrel of isopropyl alcohol delivered to your home...do you have a company you recommend and how do you recommend storing it? I have small children and my backyard is fenced, but not necessarily secure and I would be worried about fire danger. Any tips?

I also would like to know the brand of your solar oven, etc. I have tried to find (really) easy instructions on building one, but come up short, or they seem too whimpy.

Preparedness Pro's picture

Ginger, I prefer the Global Sun Oven. When it comes to relying on something to feed my family on when things get rough or just for an everyday meal, I prefer to go commercial, but at least know HOW to make one in a pinch. If you take my solar oven class, you'll know what's most critical to for a solar oven. Check out the webinar schedule or catch a local class for free. (The store owners pay me instead of you.) IF you are local and want a solar oven, let me know, because I know that Five Star Preparedness is getting rid of the last two that they have of the older model (which is what I have) for a killer deal--first come, first serve.

You mentioned the butane stove again. I have found your article where you mention the stove and where to purchase it, but I can't find a reasonably priced butane fuel source. Help!

Preparedness Pro's picture

Randy, I purchase my butane at Recreation Outlet in American Fork or Smithfield Implement up near Logan, UT. That's for local. Elsewhere in the U.S. I could go to military surplus stores to find butane at a better price than you would at Home Depot or the like.

I love meatloaf and baked potatoes. I already use my 35 years old pressure cooker (lima bean pot recipe)and camp dutch oven (biscuits and desserts)

I am a copy cat cook. I love to collect recipes and try them out. So I am TOTALLY interested in knowing some of these recipes you come up with for times of when there is no electricity. I hope you are going to post them here! I own a pressure cooker, dutch oven, a camp chef stove, a smoker and charcoal cooker, but no solar oven. So if you can help me out with recipes for any of those "machines", that would be SO helpful!. My family loves, meat and potato type dishes, along with casseroles, pizza, and fun foods like tacos, enchiladas, etc.

Preparedness Pro's picture

No problem Lynn. I'll cover the full spectrum of "gadgets" on each of the recipes so that you can make them everyday, during a camping event, or during Armageddon. :-)

I have a child with food allergies, so I adapt recipes often already to incorporate goat milk and cheeses and no nuts or eggs. I have a fun "cupcake" recipe for you. One box of devils food cake mix (or from scratch) plus one can of 100% pumpkin, you may need a couple tablespoons of applesauce if low humidity. Mix until combined. Scoop into cupcake tin (about 18-24), bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Tastes like chocolate cupcakes! You can also use a yellow cake mix for a rich pumpkin muffin as well. All from the pantry, now I just need a solar oven to bake it in.

I look forward to meatloaf and pizza recipes.

Preparedness Pro's picture

I got ya coverend Christina. We'll also cover gluten free recipes if folks want them.
Thanks for the recipe!! It sounds YUMMY!
By the way, are you familiar with mizithera cheese? It's delightful and made primarily of goat cheese. It's also hard so you can wax it and have it on hand for over 10 years down the road.

Yes gluten free recipes would be wonderful. Do you have a source for oats that are guaranteed to be gluten free? The ones I've found were way expensive!! Can't wait to get your recipes on all of the above ideas. I have a solar oven and pressure cooker, now I need some help from your knowledge. Thanks for all you do.

Morning Kellene,

I love sheppards pie. My grandma made it with basic ingredients. Onions, hamburger and potatoes. I've always added corn and its to die for. However, you have to saute the onions, fry the meat, process the potatoes and bake it all together. If you could ease this process it would be great. I look forward to you thoughts on this

How about just a big pot of rice in the pressure cooker. I did not know you could cook rice in a pressure cooker.
I am still having a hard time finding yeast I can freeze. HELP!

You can freeze any yeast, quick or regular.
I always use my pressure cookers to make my rice. YUM!

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